Mounting



Nov.. 27, 1945. w v, GQQDHUE 2,389,726

MOUNTING Filed Oct. 1l, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 27, 1945. w. v.GooDHuE MOUNT I NG Filed Oct. ll, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WillemVGooc'/lue Patented Nov. 27, 1945 UNT STAT cries MUNTING ApplicationOctober 171, 1943, Serial No. 505,845

(Cl. Sii-37) 21 Claims.

This invention relates to gun mounts and more particularly to means formounting guns on armored vehicles, although it should be understood thatin its broader aspects the invention is not thus limited.

Machine guns are commonly mounted on the hatch rings of armored tanks insuch a manner that the guns may readily be swung into firing positionsby an operator standing within the open hatch door. When travelingthrough heavily wooded country under conditions in which use of the gunis not necessary. it is desirable to move the gun into a protectedposition to eliminate the danger of damage to the gun or the danger ofripping the gun from its mounting by low overhanging branches whichmight be struck by the gun were it left in its firing position on thehatch ring. Heretofore this protection has been aliorded the gun byremoving it from the hatch ring and storing it within the turret of thetank. In the use of heavy machine guns this practice not only requiresconsiderable effort and time on the part of the operator but consumesvaluable space within the turret for the storage of the gun.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate the above-mentioneddisadvantages and difliculties in the handling and storing of guns ofthe type referred to. As illustrated herein, a storage receptacle isprovided on the turret in which the gun may readily be placed andprotected when not in use and an improved mounting is provided for thegun, facilitating its removal from the hatch ring and its transfer tothe storage receptacle. To this end and in accordance with a feature ofthe invention, the gun is carried by a mount which is in turn carried bya support pivotally connected to the hatch ring for movement from firingposition to a storage position in which the gun is placed in a containercarried by the turret separate from the hatch ring. After the gun hasbeen thus positioned, the support is disconnected therefrom so that thehatch ring may be turned freely without interference from the gun. Thegun mount is readily connected and disconnected from the supp-ort on thehatch ring by an operator standing within the open hatch, thus making itpossible rapidly to place the gun in operative position, should the needarise, Without exposing the operator to unnecessary danger.

In its broader aspects, the invention has for its object the provisionof an improved mounting for a device which may be readily transierredfrom an operative position on a movable carriage carried by a base, intoan inoperative or storage position on the base.

The above and other features of the invention, including various noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts, will now be moreparticularly described by reference to the accompanying drawings andpointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in section, ofmechanism embodying the present invention, showing the positions of theparts with a gun carried by the hatch ring of a tank in operativeposition and also illustrating by bro-ken lines the positions of theparts when the gun is in storage position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the mechanism shown inFig. l but on a larger scale, illustrating the gun in storage positionbut still connected with the hatch ring;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mechanism with the gun in storage positionon the tank;

Fig. 4 isl a sectional View on the line IV-IV of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating the gun disconnectedfrom the hatch ring;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View of a locking pin for holding the hatch ringin proper position to be connected to the gun; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line VII-VII of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, a gun Il] is illustrated as being carried by amovable carriage or hatch ring l2 of a tank, a portion of the top wallof which is illustrated at ill. The gun is supported in a cradle I6 of agun mount I8, the gun being secured to the cradle by pins 2i! and 22.The cradle i6 is pivoted by trunnion pins 24 between the spaced arms ofa yoke 26 on the lower end of which is formed a pintle 28 (Figs. 2, 4and 5) journaled in a housing 3D. An equilibrator spring 32 (Fig. l) iscarried in a housing 34 secured to the cradle I6. This spring is in theform of a torsion spring, one end of which is secured to the housing 34and the other end of which is secured to the adjacent trunnion pin 24,thereby to counterbalance the gun as it is moved in elevation. Alsocarried by the cradle is an ammunition box bracket 35 secured by a strap3S and screws All to the cradle I6.

The pintle 28 is held in the housing 3i] against axial movement. Forthis purpose the pintle is provided with a peripheral groove l2 (Figs. 2and 4) to receive a locking pin it carried within a horizontal bore in awall of the housing 3U. This pin is carried by an arm 46 secured by ascrew 48 to'the housing 30. With the pin received by the groove 42 inthe pintle as shown in Fig. 4, it prevents axial movement of the pintlebut permits unlimited rotative movement thereof so that the gun may beswung in azimuth.

The gun mount thus far described is so arranged as to be connected tothe hatch ring I2, as shown in Fig. 1, either with the gun Vcarried inoperative position or swung downwardly with respect to the hatch ring topermit storage of the gun in a receptacle 50 carried by the top wall I4of the tank turret. In order to facilitate the accurate positioning ofthe hatch ring relatively to the turret when it is desired to disconnectthe gun mount from the hatch ring or to connect it thereto with the gunin the receptacle, a locking pin 52 (Fig. 6) is provided, This pin isslidable in a sleeve 54 carried by the hatch ring and secured in placeby a plate 55 and is normally urged by a spring 56 toward the adjacentwall' of the turret which is provided with a recess 58 to receive theadjacent end of the pin when the hatch ring is in the proper position,To the outer end of the pin is secured a handle 60 to facilitateretraction of the pin by the operator from the aperture 58 to permitturning of the hatch ring relatively to the turret. Except when it isdesired to lock the hatch ring in gunereceiving position, it should befree for unlimited turning movements, and accordingly the locking pin 52is held in retracted position. For this purpose, a pin 62 carried by thehatch ring is arranged to act on the handle 60 to maintain the lockingpin in its retracted position. The handle has a recess 66 arranged topermit inward movement of the locking pin when the handle is rotated tocarry the recess into register with the pin 62. However, when the pin 52is withdrawn a sufiicient amount, the handle 60 may be rotated to carrythe recess out of register with the pin, whereby the handle rests uponthe outer end of the pin 62 and the locking pin '52 is held in retractedposition.

Carried by the hatch ring I2 is an upwardly extending bracket to whichis pivoted a support for the gun mount comprising a pair of parallelsupporting arms 12 fulcrumed on a pin 14V at opposite sides of thebracket. For coupling the gun mount to the supporting arms 12 a U-shapedlocking member 16 is provided` This locking member includes a pair ofparallel arms 11 (Fig. 4) pivoted on pins 18 projecting from the sidesof the housing 30. For holding the pins in the housing they are providedwith flattened surfaces 80 with which cooperate draw bolts 82, i

one of which is shown in Fig. 2, having cam surfaces 84 arranged, whenthe bolts are moved downwardly as viewed in Fig. 2 by tightening thenuts 86, to act on the attened surfaces 80 of the pins 18 and hold themrmly in place- The arms 11 carry outwardly projecting pins 88 engageablein curved grooves 90 in the inner faces of the supporting arms 12. Thesegrooves, as shown in Fig. 2, each include a curved portion 92 concen-.trically disposed with respect to the pins 18 on which the lockingmember 16 is pivoted when the supporting arms 12 are in lockingengagement with the gun mount, and another curved portion 94 concentricwith the pin 14 on which the arms 12 are mounted. The pins 18 extendoutwardly beyond the arms 11 of the locking member to be engaged byrecesses 96 in the supporting arms 12 when the arms are locked to thegun mount. Lugs 98 carried by the housing 30 extend laterally fromopposite sides there@ above and below the pins 18 in positions to engagethe supporting arms 12 above and below the recesses 96 as shown in Fig.1 thereby to assist in holding the gun mount rmly in the supportingarms.

Assuming that the gun is stored in the receptacle 59 and the supportingarms 12 are disconnected from the gun mount, as illustrated in Fig. 5,the connection between the supporting arms and the gun mount riseiiected as follows. The locking member 16 is swung in acounterclockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow a, after which thesupporting arms 12 are swung downwardly, as shown by the arrow b, sothat the pins 88 are received within the portions 94 of the grooves inthe arms 12. The arms are moved downwardly until the extensions of thepins 18 are received by the recesses 96 in the arms and the lugs 98 ofthe housing 80 engage the faces of the arms adjacent to the recesses 98.The locking member 16 is now swung in a clockwise direction into theposition shown in Fig. 2, the pins 88 carried thereby moving along theportions 92 of the grooves 90 in the supporting arms. The arms are nowsecurely locked to the housing 30 by the pins 88 in the locking member16, the extensions of the pins 18 and the lugs 93. Accordingly, the gunmay be swung by the operator with the supporting arms 12 into anoperative position, as shown in Fig. 1.

For locking the gun in this position, the bracket 10 is formed with anupwardly extending block |00 carrying a cam plate |02, With the gun inits operative position, being held there at this time by the operator,the locking member 16 is swung in a counterclockwise direction into theposition shown in Fig. 1 in which it embraces the block |08 and engagesthe outer surface of the cam plate |02, thereby to hold the mount in theposition shown in Fig. 1. Apertures |04 are formed in the arms 11 of thelocking member 16 which are alined with an aperture |06 in the block |00when the locking member 16 is in its locking position relatively to theblock. Accordingly, a pin |08 can be inserted through the apertures inthe arms 11 and the block |05. thereby to hold the locking member 16 inlocking position. Pins |03 carried by the housing 30 enter recesses |05in the block |00 and assist in holding the gun mount rigid at this time,In moving the locking member 16 in a counterclockwise directionrelatively to the housing 30 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to thatof Fig. 1 thereby to lock the gun mount in operative position, the pins88 remain in the portions 92 in the supporting arms 12 so that the armsare still locked relatively to the gun mount. With the gun in thepositionshown in Fig. 1, it may be swung in any direction and, assumingthe locking pin 52 of the hatch ring to be withdrawn, the hatch ringwith the gun mounted thereon may be readily swung to any desiredposition.

When it is desired to store the gun in the receptacle 50, the hatch ring|2 is turned until the locking pin 52 enters the recess 58 in the turretso that the gun is in proper position to be moved into storage position.The locking pin |08 is withdrawn, thus permitting the locking member 16to be swung in a clockwise direction to free the mount from the block|00 carried by the hatch ring. With the gun turned about its verticalaxis, so that it is parallel with the receptacle 50. it is lowered intothe receptacle, the parts at this time assuming the positions shown inFig. 2, the gun still being connectedto the arms 12 which suplport thegun during this movement.

The gun is now secured Within the receptacle I) by a locking pin IIDwhich passes through the walls of the container and apertures in ears lII 2 carried by the housing 30. With the gun thus secured within thereceptacle 5G, the locking member 'I6 is now moved in a counterclockwisedirection (Fig. 2) to carry the pins 88 to the outer extremity of theportions 92 of the grooves SB. The supporting arms 'I2 are then movedupwardly out of engagement with the pins 88 in the locking member I6into the positions illustrated in Fig. 5 and are locked therein by thepin |08 passing through apertures in the arms IZ and the aperture IUS inthe block I. The gun mount is now entirely free of the hatch ring but isin position to be readily connected thereto whenever desired, asV

explained abovel' The locking arm I6 is held in the position shown inFig. 5 during storage of the gun by spring-pressed detents I I 6 carriedwithin the pins 88 and engageable with recesses II8 (Fig. 7) in thehousing 30 when the locking member is moved into the position shown inFig. 5. To obviate the danger of losing the locking pins |08 and I I,they are connected by chains or the like I2l3 and I22 to the hatch ringI2 and to the receptacle 50, respectively. The pins are provided withenlarged split outer ends which prevent their accidental Withdrawal fromtheir respective locking positions. Additional locking pins I 24, |26(Fig. 3) passing through the opposite Walls of the receptacle 5I] areprovided further to hold the gun securely Within the receptacle. t

From the above, it will be seen that a convenient mechanism forsupporting the gun in operative position on the hatch ring of the tankis provided, the mechanism being such' as to facilitate movement of thegun into storage position in a receptacle located on top of the tankturret and permitting the gun to be readily disconnected from the hatchring so that when in storage position it will not interfere with theturning of the hatch ring by the operator.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, a base, a carriage movable on said base, a devicemovable between an operative position on said carriage and aninoperative position on said base separate from said carriage.supporting means carried by said carriage, means for detachably securingsaid device to said supporting means, and means connecting saidsupporting means to said carriage for movement relatively, theretowhereby the device may be moved into inoperative position on said basewhen carried by said supporting means.

2. In combination, a base, a carriage movable on said base, a devicemovable between an operative position on said carriage and aninoperative position on said base separate from said carriage, means forsupporting said device in operative position o-n said carriage formovement therewith, means connecting said supporting means to saidcarriage for movement relatively thereto whereby the supporting meansguides said device in its movements between operative position on saidcarriage and inoperative position on said base, and means for detachablysecuring said device to said supporting means.

3. In combination, a base, a carriage movable on said base, a devicemovable between an operative position on said carriage and aninoperative position on said base separate from said carriage,

means for supporting said device in operative position on said carriagefor movement therewith, means connecting said supporting means to saidcarriage for movement relatively thereto whereby the supporting meansguides said device in its movements between operative position on saidcarriage and inoperative position on said base, means for detachablysecuring said device to said supporting means, and means for lockingsaid supporting means to said carriage against movement relativelythereto.

4. In combination, a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on said base, adevice movable between an operative position on said carriage and aninoperative position on said base, a support mounted on said carriagefor pivotal movement about e, horizontal/axis, Vand means Yfordetachably connecting said device to said support, including means forlocking said support against movement relatively to the carriage withthe device in operative position.

5. In combination, a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on said base, adevice movable between an operative position on said carriage and aninoperative position on said base, a support mounted on said lcarriagefor pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, means for detachablyconnecting said device to said support, including means for locking saidsupport against movement relatively to the carriage with the device inoperativ-e position, and means locating and locking said carriage in afixed predetermined position relatively to said base so that the devicemay be moved between Koperative position on the carriage and inoperativeposition on the base.

6. In combination, a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on said base, adevice movable between an operative position on the carriage and astorage position on the base independently of the carriage, a storagereceptacle `carried by the base separate from the carriage, a supportfor said device mounted 0n the carriage for pivotal movement about ahorizontal axis to facilitate transfer of the device from its operativeposition to the storage receptacle, means for detachably connecting saiddevice to said support, said lastnamed means including means for lockingthe support against movement relatively to the carriage with the gun inoperative position, and means for locking the carriage to the base withthe device in position to be transferred by the support to the storagereceptacle.

7. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun movable between a firing position on the hatchring and a storage position on the turret independent of the hatch ring,and means for coupling said gun to said hatch ring when the gun is instorage position.

8. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun movable between a firing position on the hatchring and a storage position on the turret independent of the hatch ring,and means for coupling said gun to said hatch ring while the gun is instorage position and for locking said gun in operative positionrelatively to said hatch ring.

9. In. combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun arranged to be carried by the hatch ring when iniring position or to be stored on the turret independently of the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported, supporting meanscarried by the hatch ring, means for detachably securing the gun mountto said supporting means, and means connecting'said supporting means tothe hatch ring Yfor movement relatively thereto to facilitate movementof the gun between nring position and storage position.

10. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gunarranged to be carried by the hatch ring when innring position cr to be stored on the turret independently of the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported, supporting meanscarried by the hatch ring, means for detachably securing the gun mountto said supporting means, means connecting said supporting means to thehatch ring for movement relatively thereto to facilitate movement of thegun between firing position and storage position, and means for lockingsaid supporting means against movement relatively to the hatchl ringwith the gun in ring position.

11. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun arranged to be carried by the hatch ring when infiring position or to be stored on the turret independently of the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported, a support mountedon the hatch ring for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, andmeans for detachably connecting said gun mount to said support.

12. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun arranged to be carried by the hatch ring when inring position or to be stored on the turret independently of the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported; a support mountedon the hatch ring for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis to carrythe gun between firing position on the hatch ring and the storageposition, and means for detachably connecting said gun mount to saidsupport including means for locking the support against movementrelatively to the hatch ring with the gun in firing position.

13. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun arranged to be carried by the hatch ring when iniiring position or to be stored on the turret independently of the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported, a support mountedon the hatch ring for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, andmeans pivotally connected to said mount for detachably connecting themount to the support.

14. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun arranged to be carried by the hatch ring when inring position or to be stored on the turret independently of the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported, a support mountedon the hatch ring for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, abracket carried by said hatch ring, and means carried by said mount forlocking it to the support and for locking the support to the bracketwith the gun in ring position.

15. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun arranged to be carried by the hatch ring when inring position or to be stored on the turret independently of the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported, a storagereceptacle carried by the turret separate from the hatch ring, a supportfor the gun mount carried by the hatch ring, said support being movablerelatively to the hatch ring to facilitate h having a hatch ringrotatably mounted thereon,

transfer of the gun to the storage receptacle, and means fordetachably-connecting said mount to said support.

l5. In combination, an armored tank turret having ahatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun movable between a firing position on the hatchring and a storage position on the turret independent of the hatch ring,means for coupling said gun to said hatch ring when the gun is instorage position and for transferring the gun from the hatch ring tostorage position, and means for locking the hatch ring to the'turretwith the gun in position to be transferred t0 storage position.

17. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun arranged to be carried by the hatch ring when infiring position or to be stored on the turret independently of the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported, a storagereceptacle carried by the turret separate from the hatch ring, a supportfor the gun mount carried by the hatch-ring, said support being movablerelatively to the hatch ring to facilitate transfer of the gun to thestorage receptacle, means for detachably connecting said mount to saidsupport, and means for locking the hatch ring to the turret with the gunin position to be transferred to the storage receptacle.

18. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch'ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun arranged to be carried by the hatch ring when inring position or to be stored on the turret independently of the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported, a storagereceptacle carried bythe turret separate from the hatch ring, a supportfor the gun mount carried by the hatch ring for pivotal movement about ahorizontal axis to facilitate transfer of the gun from its firingposition to the storage receptacle, and means for detachably connectingsaid mount to said support.

19. In combination, an armored tank turret a gun arranged to be carriedby the hatch ring when in iiring position or to be stored on the turretindependently of the hatch ring, a mount in which the gun is movablysupported, a storage receptacle carried by the turret separate from thehatch ring, a support for the gun mount carried by the hatch ring forpivotal movement about a horizontal axis to facilitate transfer of thegun from its ring position to the storage receptacle, and means fordetachably connecting said mount to said support, said last-named meansincluding means for locking the support against movement relatively tothe hatch ring with the gun in operativeV position. Y

20. In combination, an armored tank turret having a hatch ring rotatablymounted thereon, a gun arranged to be carried by the hatch ring when inring position or to be stored on the turret independently oi" the hatchring, a mount in which the gun is movably supported, a storagereceptacle carried by the turret separate from the hatch ring, a supportfor the gun mount carried by the hatch ring for pivotal movement about ahorizontal axis to facilitate transfer of the gun from its firingposition to the storage receptacle, means for detachably connecting saidmount to said support, said Vlast-named means including means forlocking the support against movement relatively to the hatch ring withthe gun in operative position, and means for locking of supporting armspivoted to said hatch ring and arranged to engage opposite sides of saidmount, a locking member carried by said mount for locking said armsthereto, and a member carred by the hatch ring cooperating with saidlocking member for holding said arms in a fixed position relatively tothe hatch ring with the gun in ring position.

WILLIAM V. GOODHUE.

